


(four) seasons (total landscaping) of love

by i_love_your_light



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 2020, American Politics, Awkward Flirting, Brief mention of sex toys/sex shops, Crack Treated Seriously, Established Relationship, F/M, Four Seasons Total Landscaping AU, Fuck trump!, I will pepper in pianjeong because i am gay, Language, M/M, Modern AU, Other, Pre-Poly, Proper Pandemic Safety, Rudy Giuliani mention tw, Sokka (Avatar) Has ADHD, Suki appreciation hours, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, guys i hate myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27511468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_love_your_light/pseuds/i_love_your_light
Summary: In which Sokka, employee at Four Seasons Total Landscaping, has made a big mistake at work and finds moral support from his boyfriend Zuko and the hot employee from the sex shop next door that they both have a crush on.(aka the Four Seasons Total Landscaping Fiasco AU that absolutely nobody asked for except for my one friend who made me write this as part of a kind-of dare and then I unironically ended up loving it so..... here you go)
Relationships: Sokka/Suki/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 108
Kudos: 296
Collections: Koi’s atla fic recs





	(four) seasons (total landscaping) of love

**Author's Note:**

> im..... so sorry. but am i? yeah. i am. 
> 
> but also im not.

“I’ve fucked up,” Sokka’s voice came down the line, sounding genuinely rattled. “Can you come to the shop now, oh _god_ , and please, please bring some of your uncle’s calming tea or something. I’ve-” he laughed somewhat hysterically. “Holy shit, I’ve _fucked up_ , Zuko, you’re never gonna believe it, ohmy _god_.”

“What’s going on?” Zuko was already gathering his things, phone tucked between his ear and his shoulder. “Are you ok? Is-is everyone safe?”

“Yes, I’m fine, it’s nothing dangerous… I think? I don’t know Zuko, I- I- I’m gonna sound like a crazy person. This is crazy. I don’t know how to explain on the phone, you just have to _get here_ , baby.” His boyfriend was always prone to nervous rambles but this was on another level, Sokka’s words rushing out all at once. “And don’t use the front entrance, you have to come around to the back, try to avoid the cameras, and text me when you pull up-”

“The _cameras_?” Zuko hopped while tugging his shoes on, mind whirling, baffled. “Sokka, what did you _do_?”

Sokka didn’t explain, just let out a high-pitched “talk to you soon, love you!” before hanging up.

Zuko tore through the cabinets in the kitchen, boxes clattering haphazardly onto the counter. _Calming tea, calming tea, calming tea._ What the fuck did the box look like?

Iroh picked up the call on the second ring. “Is everything alright, nephew?”

“I can’t find the calming tea,” Zuko said, frustratedly still rustling through boxes that had piled up from all the care packages Iroh had sent them the past few months. “What- what does the box look like again?”

Iroh tutted. “What a way to tell an old man you haven’t been appreciating his gift.”

“ _Uncle_.”

“Yes, yes, I understand. It’s not a box, it’s a tin. Blue and silver on the outside, I believe, a lovely cloud pattern on the front.”

Ah, that one. Sokka had insisted on keeping the decorative tins outside of the cabinets, perching it on the counter by the sugar bowl instead.

“Thank you,” Zuko sighed, shoulders dropping a bit in relief as he snagged two bags. 

“Certainly sounds like you could use a cup.” Iroh said wryly.

“No. I mean yes, but it’s for Sokka,” Zuko said. “I’m fine, it’s just, he-” _is in trouble? Might have set the landscaping shop on fire? Might be under arrest? Might have discovered skeletons in the parking lot? Was caught in a pyramid scheme? Is under investigation by the FBI?_ “He needs me. At work. For. Something?”

Iroh nodded sagely. “Well, you know what I always say. Any problem can be solved with a loved one and a good cup of-”

“Thank you, Uncle!” Zuko felt bad for cutting him off, but knew Iroh was prone to long tangents and he simply didn’t have the time or concentration while his mind was spiralling.

Zuko continued to spiral through all the possibilities as he made the usually fifteen minute drive to Sokka’s place of work in eight and a half minutes. As stressful as it was, it was a nice relief from anxiously refreshing his phone and having cable news on in the background as incremental counts of votes were processed and tallied and time felt fuzzy and meaningless. Now there was some new uncertainty to occupy his brain. But nothing he dreamt up- from aliens to accidental manslaughter- could’ve come close to what he saw as he passed the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping.

“What the fuck did you do?” Zuko hissed from behind his mask as Sokka ushered him through the back entrance.

“I-I don’t- I thought it was a _prank_!” Sokka gesticulated wildly, pouring water from a kettle into mugs from the back room to make the tea Zuko brought before pacing in circles around the lobby. “I was so _bored_ , Zuko, just minding my business at the front desk, and then this person called and they start saying these ridiculous things about booking a _press conference_ for the _Trump campaign_ at our _location_ and I was like ‘this person is bonkers and absolutely messing with me’ but I was _bored_ so I just _played along_ and I didn’t know it was _real_ until they started _showing up_!”

“Oh my god.”

“They were like ‘do you have a podium we could use?’ and in my head I was like _why on earth would a landscaping company have a podium?_ But I made up some bullshit about how ‘oh because of covid safety protocols we request that everyone provide their own podium!’ And then they _did_!” Sokka scrubbed his hands over his face. “Piandao and Jeong Jeong are going to _kill_ me, Zuko, the _one_ day they leave me all alone to man the shop and this happens.”

“Are-Are you going to tell them to leave?”

“I can’t, they’re already set up, I-I don’t think I can- they came to check in and I was so fucking dazed that I was just like ‘yeah, ok’, and anyway they’re not going to listen to some random twenty-three year old!! I don’t have that power! I just- they just have to- fuck.”

“Is-” Zuko felt his vision white out a bit at the edges. “Sokka. Is _he_ coming here?”

“No, I don’t think, no way.” Sokka shuddered. “That’d be way too high security. It’s fucking Rudy Giuliani and some other minor goons I think. Believe me, I was frantically googling it when I realized what was going on, and sources say the orange man is at a golf course at the moment, which is totally unsurprising cause he’s a fu-”

He was interrupted by a sharp rap at the glass of the back window. 

It was Suki, who worked at the adult store next door to the landscaping business. Sokka and Zuko, both hopeless bisexuals, had spent many a night ranting and commiserating about both of their major crushes on her. Sokka had made small talk with her over the past few months, and Zuko had only ever seen her from afar. But they both agreed that from what little they knew about her- her style, her confidence, her status as a black belt in karate that she had casually mentioned to Sokka one day- landed her right into dream girl territory. 

Close up, Zuko could see the girl’s razor sharp eyeliner, accentuated even more by the studded mask covering the bottom half of her face. There were streaks of red in her dark brown bob. Everything about her radiated effortless cool- from her doc martens, to the dark wash jean shorts over fishnet tights, to the simple white blouse adorned with a button that read “Vibe Check” over an image of a cartoon vibrator and the logo for Fantasy Island. She was glaring at them with her arms crossed. Zuko felt a bit weak in the knees, and a quick glance to his boyfriend confirmed Sokka was feeling the same.

“You boys wanna explain what the fuck is going on?” 

Zuko and Sokka both rushed to explain at once.

“It’s not what you thi-”

“Yes- I- it was an accident? I thought-”

“Of course we don’t _support_ him-”

“It sounded like a prank, but it was real and now-”

“We just want them to leave too, _fuck_ those guys-”

Suki visibly relaxed. “Okay. Okay. Good. But why on earth are they having an official press conference in some rando landscaping company’s parking lot in Tacony?”

“That’s exactly what I thought when I answered the phone! But my working theory is that they-” Sokka dissolved into nervous giggles. “They thought we were the Four Seasons, like, the fancy hotel in downtown Philly? But like, they had our address on file, so I don’t know. Maybe it’s Borat 3 already? Or maybe they’re just desperate idiots, who _knows_.”

“Wild,” Suki shook her head.

The three of them stepped outside so they could stand apart and unmask while drinking their tea, and eavesdrop on what was going on around the corner.

“Sorry, uh, I only brought two tea bags,” Zuko said awkwardly to Suki, who was standing empty handed six feet away.

She laughed. “That’s alright. You’re sweet.” She looked to Sokka, “This the boyfriend I’ve been hearing about?”

Sokka nodded and beamed, “This is Zuko.”

“Nice to meet you,” Zuko didn’t miss the way that Suki looked him up and down. He wished he had changed into something nicer before rushing over in his sweatpants and t-shirt, but Sokka also had dirt caked into his jeans next to him, so they were really zero for two. 

“He’s handsome, I get it,” Suki said to Sokka, and Zuko flushed. “You two are cute together.”

“Thank you,” Sokka slung an arm over Zuko’s shoulder. “We are both _very_ bisexual and, if you were wondering, we _are_ open.”

“Oh my god, Sokka,” Zuko choked on his tea, spluttering, elbowing his boyfriend as his face went bright red, “you can’t just say that.”

“I am simply making small talk, babe,” Sokka said as Suki snorted and Zuko wished he could disappear into the ground. With an obviously forced casual air, Sokka asked, “What about you, Suki, you seeing anyone?”

“Not currently, no.” Suki laughed, and then thankfully changed the subject. “You know, people are gonna go nuts once this whole Four Seasons thing breaks on twitter.”

“Oh shit, I hadn’t even thought about that,” Sokka said. All three of them pulled out their phones, and sure enough, the confused and entertained tweets had started to pour in about the story. They read a few gems out to each other, and then they all saw it at the same time.

“Oh my god-”

“They called it-”

“All the networks!”

“We did it!”

“It’s _over_ ,” Sokka said, relief and joy bright in his eyes as he pulled Zuko in for a kiss. Zuko’s head was reeling in disbelief, unable to process the reality even though it had been days in the making. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to laugh, he wanted to-to-to-

He met Suki’s eyes and she seemed to understand his unspoken want, laughing as she said, “Re-mask, boys, and give me your hands, we’ll sanitize later.”

They all grabbed hands enthusiastically, jumping up and down together in lieu of being able to hug, joyful giggles bubbling out of their circle.

“Wait, do you think they’ve seen the news yet?” Suki gasped. The three of them raced to peer around the corner, watching gleefully as the number of reporters started to dwindle as they left to cover the breaking election news instead. 

“This is...art.” Zuko said.

“Suck it,” Sokka hissed at the campaign team.

“Fuck those guys,” Suki agreed. She pointed at the Fox News van. “I snuck over and stuck stickers from the shop on their bumper, so now they have to drive around with a bunch of pictures of dildos on their van.”

Zuko and Sokka gaped at her, amazed. 

“You’re a genius,” Sokka gushed. “You’re a national hero.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Suki took a mock bow, eyes bright. “Well, this was amazing. I’m so glad I was here to see this, and it was lovely spending this monumental moment with you, but I have to go back to the shop now and call all my friends to celebrate.”

“Of course.” Zuko said.

“So good to see you,” Sokka chimed in.

“Oh wait, sanitizer. Ha, oh gosh, guys,” Suki rummaged in her bag, pulling out a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer and rolling her eyes at herself. “The amount of times I’ve accidentally mistaken my mini lube for my mini hand sanitizer- not cute.”

“Oh” Zuko said, flush back on his cheeks, unconvincingly feigning a knowing air. “Um. Yeah, so...relatable.”

It was Sokka’s turn to groan in embarrassment at his boyfriend. It was hard to tell with Suki’s mask covering half her face, combined with the fact that Zuko didn’t know her well at all, and it might’ve just been the rose-colored glasses of the delirious joy that they all felt about the news, but Zuko could’ve sworn she looked at them with a bit of fondness.

“Let’s do this again sometime,” Sokka said, after all their hands had been properly de-germified. “I mean, not all of this exactly, but-”

“I’d like that,” Suki said, eyes flashing a bit mischievously. “You can swing by the store anytime!” she gestured to Zuko. “You can bring me that cup of tea I missed out on today.”

“Y-Yeah.” The idea of the three of them in a sex shop wasn’t doing anything to help Zuko’s whole blushing situation. “Um, sure.”

“And if you do come to the shop, I can get you the Triple -F discount.”

“What’s that?” Sokka asked.

“Friends, family,” Suki looked them both up and down again. “and folks I think are hot.”

“And, uh, which one are we?” Zuko asked awkwardly.

Suki just laughed and winked. “See ya later, boys!”

“That was really successful.” Sokka said as she rounded the corner. “We were both really smooth.”

“Yeah,” Zuko intoned sarcastically. “Really smooth.”

“I’m serious. I think I’ll have to go up to those republicans and be like, thank you so much for inadvertently helping me, a queer, and my queer boyfriend, make some non-monogamous relationship moves. I think they’d really love that.”

Zuko laughed. “My dad’s probably pissed,” he said dreamily, imagining Ozai getting the news in his jail cell.

“My dad!” Sokka gasped. “I gotta call him, and Katara, and-and Toph and everyone!”

“I gotta call my uncle,” Zuko added, and then, thinking of his uncle’s friends, went pale. “Shit, you have to call Piandao and Jeong Jeong and let them know.”

Sokka wilted. “Noooo, what am I going to tell them? How am I going to tell them? Can’t _you_ do it, babe, you’re so much better at saying things bluntly.”

“That’s a weird backhanded compliment that I am going to choose to ignore.”

Zuko dragged Sokka back into the shop as his boyfriend rambled. “C’mon, you know I love you. Wait, do you think I’m going to be famous now because of this? This totally makes up for the fact that I haven’t become tiktok famous yet. Oh! Should I have been making a tiktok this whole time? It’s not too late, oh man, will you film me doing the WAP dance in front of them, babe? Babe? Zuko? Don’t grumble at me like that, I’m serious, this could be my big break!”

(A week later, when Suki was on the opposite side of a picnic blanket from Sokka and Zuko and she said ‘so, I saw your tiktok…’, it would be Sokka’s turn to choke on his tea.)

**Author's Note:**

> GOD if you read this.... thank you? this is the weirdest shit ive ever written and also i had so much fun writing it. if this was entertaining for you please leave a comment below or kudos or whatever you feel like. i love hearing from you, even on wacko fics like this one.
> 
> hooray to all you fellow democracy-loving fascism-hating americans- virtual hugs to you all. let's celebrate now and gear up for all the work left to do!! this is just the beginning! take care of yourselves!


End file.
